Cuts, No Problems. $Nasdaq100 Bull 3X ETF(TQQQ)$
After a 27-month period with no new peaks, the Nasdaq Composite now has two in two days. A 1.1% rise Friday gave the tech-heavy index its second consecutive record close. The S&P 500 also closed in record territory, up 0.8%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is no slouch either. Despite falling 0.1% on the day, the blue-chip index still closed at its second highest level in history.
Stock-market investors are an ebullient bunch, boosted by continued enthusiasm around artificial intelligence, a solid earnings season, and a strong economy with sticky but not awful inflation trends.
It's notable that stocks are working even as Fed rate cuts look to be further out in the distance. Despite starting the year with an assumption of seven quarter-point reductions, the market is now pricing in less than four of those cuts. And some economists and market watchers aren't even counting on that.
The Fed's current range is 5.25% to 5.5%. The market predicts that falling to 4.4% by the end of the year. Increasingly, investors are just fine with that.
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